9. Michael
Michael
the following morning
“ S ee you Friday, mi amor.”
Letting the receiver finally rest in its cradle, I sit back in my rolling desk chair and close my eyes shielding the grey cubicle walls surrounding me.
My ear burns, an imprint of the hard plastic office phone pressed to it for the past three hours, and my stomach rumbles, reminding me I skipped lunch.
My legs are stiff and cramped as I stretch them out under the desk.
The discomfort is totally worth it.
From the minute my future wife’s number (of course I already had it memorized) popped up on my Motorola, all my work responsibilities ceased to exist. The only thing that mattered was hearing her sweet, sexy voice on the other line and getting to know my soulmate.
“Hello, beautiful,” I greeted her, and had I imagined that quick catch in her breath?
For a moment she was silent, so I swept in, not wanting to give her a chance to overthink like she did at the club.
Asking if she wanted to play an easy game of twenty questions was all it took to get the conversation going.
Plus, it would give me insight on how to spoil her later.
We covered the basics like sweet or savory (she was sweet; naturally, she was), beach or mountains (both), and dining out or eating in (I reminded her of my promise to cook for her and her giggle brought the biggest smile to my face).
Minutes turned into hours as our conversation flowed from favorite things to the state of the economy and the dot-com bubble burst. We exchanged nightmare customer stories in our respective industries, along with what we loved about our jobs (I loved fixing problems, and she loved making a person’s day).
We both agreed that the challenge of the unknown was what motivated us every day.
And talked about our hopes, desires. Aspirations and goals, and what we wanted from life.
We weren’t exact matches on everything; of course not, that would be boring.
But we were in alignment on all the things that mattered.
We both valued family, doing work we were passionate about, and giving it our all.
We wanted to travel, experience new sights, new foods, and new cultures.
I shared with her the overwhelming and sometimes smothering love of being in a big family, and she laughed and said that must be nice.
She was less forthcoming about her own home life, only mentioning her best friend Claire and her daughter.
I didn’t press the issue. She could open up to me in her own time.
For her, I was an open book. When she asked what brought me down to Atlanta, I hesitated a fraction of a second.
If Vivian was going to be in my life, she needed to know all of me.
I just hoped it didn’t make her view me any differently.
“You want to know the truth, or what I told everyone in the office?”
“The truth, always,” she said firmly.
I swallowed before answering. “The truth is that coming down here gave me a second chance at this company. I got into some trouble at the last one with the boss’s daughter.”
“Oh, the boss’s daughter?” At her sharp inhale, I quickly backtracked.
“Hang on, mi amor, not like that. More like with the guy who was messing with the boss’s daughter.”
“So… what happened?” she asked carefully.
“This d-bag I worked with was screwing around on his girlfriend who happens to be a good friend of mine. She also happens to be our head manager’s daughter; that’s how they met.
One night we were all working late on a client backlog and I came out to the parking lot to get some fresh air.
I saw him getting physical with her, so I gave him what he deserved. ”
I didn’t elaborate that he ended up in the hospital. Or that his nose was permanently broken.
“The guy was one of the supervisor’s kids, and his dad threw a fit. Threatened to press charges, but my boss got him to drop it in exchange for me transferring to the Atlanta office.”
My boss should’ve been the one pressing charges on behalf of his daughter, but I’d gotten to them before the jerk could do any lasting damage, and there wasn’t any evidence. Unlike the douchebag’s face that I’d rearranged for him.
“It was my word against his, and his daughter just wanted to let it blow over, so we came to an agreement instead. Joke’s on that supervisor though, because not only did I get to keep my job, but it came with a promotion and pay raise.”
She was quiet for a moment, absorbing what I’d just shared with her. My heart caught in my throat, desperate to know what she was thinking.
“Vivian?”
“Yes, Michael?” Her tone was contemplative.
“Does that freak you out?” I held my breath.
“That’s… that’s actually quite admirable.” Oxygen filled my lungs as I remembered how to breathe. At least she wasn’t running away. “I mean, I’m rather impressed that you’d do that. I guess with you being her friend and all…”
“I’ll never just stand by and watch someone get hurt, Vivian.
Even if it cost me my job. That’s one thing my grandfather taught me.
To stand up for what’s right and if you have the power to help someone, you do it.
” In a lower tone, I added, “I want you to know what kind of man I am. What kind of man you’re getting involved with. ”
She paused long enough that I feared I’d lost her again. But the warmth in her voice was unmistakable when she said, “I think I’d like your grandfather.”
“He’s going to love you, mi amor.”
Before she could react to the term of endearment that had slipped out, Adam, who’d been walking by my cubicle a few times with questioning looks, finally stuck his head through the open space.
“Who the hell have you been on the phone with so damn long?” Vivian’s cackle told me she’d heard every word.
So I made sure I emphasized my next words.
“My girlfriend.” Vivian gasped at the same time as Adam.
“Girlfriend, huh?” He gave me a thumbs up along with a wicked grin, and I knew I was gonna pay for this later. “I’ll cover for you,” he said as he strolled off, whistling. Yep, definitely gonna owe him a beer. Maybe a case.
“Girlfriend, huh?” Vivian echoed, but she didn’t seem mad about it. In fact, her voice had taken on a suggestive, teasing tone. “Is that what you meant by getting involved? You wanna date me, Michael?”
“Oh, my lady, I want to do so much more than date you.” I chuckled.
As I continued, my voice dropped an octave.
“I want to spend every moment with you. I want to bring you back to my house and make that dinner I promised you. Wanna wake up with you in my arms and cook you breakfast. Because you'll be starving after the night we’re gonna have. I’m gonna make you forget your own name. ” I’m gonna replace it with mine.
Silence.
“Mi amor?”
“Yeah…” Her voice was breathy. “Yeah, I think I can handle that.”
“Good. How does Friday night sound?”
Hours passed in the span of minutes, until she encouraged me to get back to work and I begrudgingly obliged.
A few times I was forced to pause our conversation and pretend to be on the phone with a contractor.
Never missing a beat, Vivian giggled and play-acted the role, speaking in a gruff tone that made for the sexiest-sounding vendor I’d ever heard.
A couple guys passed by and said I must be doing something really good because they had never seen a contractor make me smile like that before. If they only knew.
Every minute we talked, her voice musical in my ears and a permanent grin on my face, was like another puzzle piece sliding into place. And each piece made me feel even more strongly that she’s the one, she’s it for me.
That we’re meant to be together.
I just hope she feels it too.
And if not, I’m gonna make her fall in love with me anyway.
I still might not know her birthday or favorite color, but I know how big her heart is.
She’s smart, funny, driven… confidence never looked so sexy on a woman.
And having had the full package in my arms only seventy-two hours ago, I don’t know how I’m going to make it til our date in a few days.
All I want to do is hold her, kiss her, and get on my knees before her.
Put a ring on it too, but I’m pretty sure she won’t mind me being on my knees beforehand.
I can’t wait to taste her.
“Holy shit, man, you’ve been on the phone for three hours! Goldman’s gonna kill you!” Adam chuckles as he rounds the corner of my cubicle and sees me stretching and cracking my neck.
“That’s why you’re covering for me, man,” I say as I hold my knuckles out for a fist bump.
“Who the hell was that, Michael?” Matt comes up behind him, his smarmy grin wild and crooked. Just what I need. Not .
“That was my girlfriend.” I fix him with a look as I lean back in my chair and lace my fingers behind my head.
“You’re crazy, you know that? Who the hell spends that much time on the phone? You could’ve been to her place, bagged and tagged it, and still got back to work in time for that 2:00 meeting.” Matt shakes his head, cocky-bastard written all over his face as I glare at him.
“First off, don’t talk about my girl like that.
She’s not one of your chicks and you’d probably get more action with the ladies if you treated them nicer.
” He scoffs at me, but I raise my eyebrow at him.
“And second, when you meet the right person—if you can get your head out of your ass long enough to score someone decent—you’ll take all the time you need in order to get to know them. Not just get up their skirt.”
“Wait, are y’all talking about that pretty young thing from the club the other night?” he asks. My fists curl at his description of Vivian, but Adam’s hand pressed against my chest reminds me I can’t afford to screw this job up too.
“Yeah, Michael here just spent the whole morning on the phone with her.” Adam’s casual barb hits the intended mark. He’s not a fan of Matt either; no one is.